"I Thought We Didn't Do That."

IX (A Twice Witches AU)

 

 

Jihyo stood in the middle of the empty room, seemingly underwhelmed with it as she laid eyes upon it. There was just a small table in the middle of the old, rickety building, a stack of books on it, coated in a thin layer of books. 

 

"This is it?" Asked Sana, speaking the very words Jihyo thought but didn't dare utter. 

 

"This is it." Chungha shrugged before turning away and smiling over her shoulder. "I'll be outside if you need me, but for now, just…" Her eyes flickered between the girls, and then to every corner of the room, "Focus on what you need most." She offered before disappearing behind the wooden door, making Jihyo scoff before plopping into the wooden chair. 

 

"We can't get discouraged now, Hyo." Sana assured, resting her hands on the girl's shoulders in reassurance as they looked through the sad stack of small, useless American encyclopedias. "With magic," Sana muttered as she opened up a book, "everything's… possible." She tilted her head, then the book, when she realized all the pages were blank. 

 

Sana hummed curiously before flipping the book from the beginning to the end, only for every page to be blank. 

 

"What's wrong with this book?" She asked before turning it upside down in her palms to show her companion, whose eyes washed over the blank parchment with intrigue. 

 

"You can't see it?" Jihyo asked the human, whose eyes flashed up in amazement. 

 

"You can?!" Sana exclaimed, making the Quizmaster smile to herself, something Sana hasn't witnessed much of.

 

She her fingers over the text and inhaled before speaking out the words on the page, a language reserved only for Quizmaster witches spilling from her lips in the form of a low, echoing tone, one only a Quizmaster can replicate. 

 

Its translation?

 

"By the fates, the oracles and what the moon and sun allow, I beg that Athena grants me the wisdom I desire." 

 

The chant was said, and before the eyes of the two women, the room expanded, and from the walls sprouted big oak shelves of books that lined them, dust covered, coated with cobwebs as though the books had never moved, never been touched. 

 

"Wow!" Sana gasped in wonder as she looked around, watching as the ceiling expanded wondrously, structures and statues carving themselves into the corners of the building, pillars building themselves up to the ceiling, larger than life. 

 

From the ground they stood on crumbled stairs on top of each other, meeting the next story elegantly, begging Sana to run up enthusiastically. 

 

"Sana, wait!" Jihyo squeaked in worry upon the human's first few steps, but once she has half way up, Jihyo chanced a step, then another, until she was following Sana around the second story of the large, dusty library. The two looked up, and around in every direction, unable to find an end to the rows upon rows of books. 

 

"How are we supposed to find what we're looking for in all this?" Jihyo asked, distraught at the feeling that they'd never find what they were looking for. 

 

Sana grinned before running up to another set of stairs and going up them. 

 

"Where are you going?" Jihyo asked, rolling her eyes as she ran after her friend. 

 

"I don't know, I just have a feeling we'll find what we're looking for up here!" She shouted as she ran across the floor to another staircase, which lead to a long strip of hallways that all went every which way, lacing over one another with railings attached, like bridges all leading to a different part of the library. 

 

In the middle laid a round platform that rose off the paths by a foot, so Sana stood upon it, and as though by magic, it glowed beneath her boots, a bright blue color, almost blinding as Jihyo huffed up the stairs. 

 

"Sana no!" She screamed, lunging at her friend, but when her hands breached the space over the platform, her body was back, into the railing as Sana's flesh glowed that same bright blue color. 

 

"What's happening?" Sana asked, voice small as she looked around at her hands, and down at Jihyo, eyes filled with fear and begging her companion for help. 

 

The light rushed through Sana's body like a shiver, erupting through her veins and kissing her nerves like ice and fire melding within her bloodstream. 

 

Suddenly, Sana's head began to ache and spin and shake all at once. Her eyes grew heavy in their sockets, and something rang in the very depths of her ear drums.

 

"Oh, mighty, warrior, if you have found the wit to discover these archives, they have been left to you and your people." Whispered the ringing in her head, "Only those with your blood may witness its excellence. Knowledge is the biggest power in the world, use your new power wisely."

 

Sana fell to the ground when the light and sound released her, chest heaving and jzforehead laced with sweat as she caught her breath. 

 

"Are you okay?" Jihyo asked, scrambling to see to Sana's safety. 

 

"I-I think they thought I was you." The human stammered, lifting herself up with great effort. 

 

"What makes you think that?" Jihyo asked, grunting as she helped Sana to her feet.

 

"I think it expected that the person smart enough to read the book would also be the one smart enough to stand up there." She groaned, brushing the dust off her knees before stretching the muscles in her back. "It said only my bloodline can access the archives." 

 

"So do you think it's talking about my bloodline?" Jihyo asked, making Sana shrug. 

 

"It makes sense to me." 

 

Once the two were back on their feet, they looked around at the books in search of some kind of system they could make sense of. 

 

"Now that we're past that extremely terrifying experience…" Jihyo sighed, "what exactly are we looking for?" 

 

As soon as the question escaped her lips, the script on the spine of every book in sight began to glow, the letters floating around and mingling with one another as though joining in on an intricate performance, waltzing and swinging in time to the songs of their own tales. 

 

… 

 

“Is there a reason you’re sitting out here by yourself?” Asked Momo of the tallest witch, whose legs dangled over the edge of the dock, watching as the water washed over itself in a one-woman waltz under a blanket of stars reflecting back onto it. 

 

“I’m just so far away from everything I’ve ever known.” Tzuyu sighed, looking down at her feet as they swung, just barely missing the small waves as they twirled and spun about beneath her. “I know they said I’m supposed to be a part of some prophecy, but I didn’t realize that entailed leaving my home and…” She looked up at the creature sheepishly, scratching her neck nervously. 

 

“Watching someone get killed?” Momo finished inquisitive, making Tzuyu sigh. 

 

“I’m from a world of happiness, and peace. I grew up in a place where people greeted one another with a smile and a warm place to sleep.” She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged her knees, resting her chin between them as she watched the clouds wash over the moon. “Even death in my world is peaceful.” 

 

It was silent for a moment as Momo and Tzuyu sat, each having their own things to say, each not having much of the courage it takes to say it. 

 

Momo sighed before turning around to sit back to back against Tzuyu, feeling the warmth of the nature witch against her, igniting a sense of easiness all over her senses. 

 

“I’ve been like this for over a thousand years.” Momo muttered to herself, hugging her knees in the same way Tzuyu did. “All I’ve ever known is loss, and pain. Wandering around aimlessly and repeating the same pattern, expecting that the one person I put my trust in will prove to be different.” Tzuyu heard Momo sniffle, and rather than moving, or turning around, she took one of Momo’s hands from her knees and held it between them tightly. “I’ve been forced to do things that would drive some people to insanity, and I’ve lost more things in my lifetime than most have ever even acquired in theirs.” Her voice cracked as she remembered all the pain, all the loss she’s experienced. “People think that living forever is amazing and beautiful, but it’s a curse. After a while, time stops making sense, and the days pass by like weeks, or months, or hours even.” She took her unoccupied hand and wiped her tears away. “Being here is the safest I’ve ever felt, and the thought that I would be so compelled to leave, with everything I had going for me…” She sniffled again, “It doesn’t make any sense.” 

 

Tzuyu looked over her shoulder at last, seeing the way Momo’s eyes leaked and her body trembled in an attempt to hold in any sobs she felt coming, and decided to turn beside Momo. She wrapped her arm around the shorter woman, pulling her close and allowing the creature to lean against her shoulder. 

 

“I don’t want to kill.” Momo whimpered softly, making Tzuyu’s heart tighten. “I can’t help that I’m a monster, and after so long, you just grow numb to the effects of your actions.” 

 

“You’re not a monster, Momo.” Tzuyu promised, holding the girl even closer, as though to protect her in some strange way. “You can’t help your instincts.”

 

Momo sniffled softly, looking down at her feet in pain as her brain washed over all the horrific deeds she’s done and tried her hardest to forget. 

 

“I hope you’re right.” She admitted sadly. 

 

… 

 

“None of these books actually have what we need. All I’ve gained from this experience is a papercut.” Jihyo complained, tossing the fifteenth book off to the side as Sana read her third book intently. The title of the book read ‘Expansion Of The Witch’s Mind.’ in big gold lettering, and Jihyo rolled her eyes. 

 

“This isn’t the time for casual reading, Sana.” Jihyo complained, and Sana looked up from her book excitedly. 

 

“This book says here that memory reading is one of the rarest abilities in a mind witch.” The human grinned, and Jihyo rose a brow. 

 

“That book has nothing to do with my mom.” Jihyo stated in confusion, making Sana hum. 

 

“The first book I picked up was on nine-tailed foxes.” She explained, picking up the book and handing it to Jihyo, who looked at it for a moment before setting it down on the table. She picked up the most recent book on her pile before handing it to Sana. “‘The Ancient Art and Practice of Curanderismo?’” Sana read out loud, “Dahyun said she practices this.” She hummed before opening it, and Jihyo hummed before going back to the pile of books that had been presented to her. 

 

“You two seem close. Tzuyu said you were talking before you all got here.” She recalled, causing Sana to shrug. 

 

“It’s just nice to feel normal around someone for once, instead of being the weird human nobody likes.” She admitted, flipping through a book titled, ‘The History Of Quizmaster.’ 

 

“I like you.” Jihyo offered with a frown, “And it seems to me that Nayeon likes you plenty.” 

 

“Yeah…” Sana sighed, “But it’s different with her. I’m like her, and it feels nice, having someone around who is like me for the first time in my life.” 

 

It was silent for a moment, until Jihyo picked up another book from her pile. 

 

‘The History of the Messenger Coven.’ 

 

“You should take this to give to your girlfriend.” Jihyo grinned before handing the book to her companion, who blushed before putting it off to the side to take with her. 

 

“I’m not so sure she’s my girlfriend.” Sana grinned, pulling a book in front of her face to hide her smile. 

 

“This adventure isn’t quite over yet.” Jihyo suggested, “You shouldn’t give up.” 

 

“Yeah, well after what happened earlier, I’m not so sure I’m good for her.” She closed the book and put it in the unwanted pile solemnly before picking up another book. 

 

“That kiss earlier tells me something completely different.” Jihyo rose a brow, and Sana sighed. 

 

“I don’t know, Hyo, I’ve never been good with people. Books are easier.” She pulled her knees into herself, tucking her feet against the seat of the chair as she held the book around her legs. “It’s all written out for you, waiting to be discovered.” 

 

“Has it ever occurred to you that people are the same way?” Jihyo inquired, “The human mind is just a book waiting to be opened. Thoughts are just narration, and feelings are just ideas waiting to be interpreted.” Jihyo’s eyes had a light in them that Sana has never seen before. She turned to the fresh pile of books again before picking up another book. 

 

‘The Unseen Magic of Space and Time.’ 

 

“These books are getting more and more obscure.” Jihyo scoffed before throwing the book behind her in slight rage, only for the book to hit a shelf, causing one more book to fall. 

 

She stood up curiously and bent down to look at the book, reading the cover out loud. 

 

“‘The History of Oracle Bay.’” 

 

… 

 

Dahyun walked through the buildings in the town, watching as Nayeon talked with whatever townspeople were still out. She thanked the citizen and patted her son on the head before turning back to Dahyun with a smile. 

 

“You have a way with people.” Dahyun complimented as they made their way through the small town. 

 

“It’s our coven’s purpose.” Nayeon admitted, “From an early age, we’re taught to communicate and make people feel comfortable.” 

 

“Why is that?” Dahyun asked in confusion. 

 

“For millenia, the job of a messenger witch has been to teleport between worlds to bring news and send messages to all sorts of different species of creatures. In order to do this, we had to learn to get along and align with every type of person, human or not.” She explained with a soft smile, causing Dahyun to do the same. 

 

“I see how you and Sana balance each other now.” The human hummed, making Nayeon raise a brow. 

 

“How so?” 

 

“Well,” Dahyun hummed, “a girl who hasn’t been anywhere and is solidified by the world she’s built for herself has found wonder in someone who’s been everywhere and who’s seen everything.” She pointed out, “It seems you’ve found something in one another that you didn’t realize you were missing.” 

 

“And what was I missing?” Asked Nayeon, making the human shrug. 

 

“I was thinking maybe you could tell me.” Dahyun prompted, to which the messenger hummed. 

 

“Sana isn’t what everyone thinks she is.” Nayeon admitted. “I’m not sure she’s human, but if she is, then the hope she has in her heart is more magical than the very pit of the Spiritus Forest.” Dahyun noticed the way Nayeon’s eyes grew distant as she spoke about Sana. “She has so much spirit, and wonder, being around her is…” She sighed, “It makes me no longer fear mortality, because dying with the satisfaction of having met someone as special as her is a peaceful death. One I’d welcome if I wasn’t so greedy.” 

 

This was strange to Dahyun, seeing someone so fond of another person after having only just met her, but she understood exactly what she met, because deep down, the way Nayeon had described Sana was something Dahyun felt at the very pit of her heart. 

 

It was a feeling both eerily familiar and painfully foreign, so far away that lost upon her, though she felt that it was at the very tip of her tongue, and that she could almost taste it if she closed her eyes and thought hard enough. 

 

“Do you love her?” Dahyun asked in concern, and Nayeon exhaled breathlessly, stopping in her tracks and looking forward, face haunted with the notion of something Dahyun couldn’t understand. 

 

“I hope not.” 

 

… 

 

Sana and Jihyo ran out of the library, hauling books in their hands and struggling not to drop them as the library formed back to its single solitary room just before the door closed behind them. 

 

They ran back to the docks, just in time, as Sana could see Nayeon and Dahyun walking toward them from the village, and Jihyo saw Jeongyeon and Mina walking back together, followed by Chaeyoung, who was a few meters back, one her way out of the wooded area. 

 

“That’s a lot of books.” Nayeon pointed out to Sana, holding her hands out to take a few to help stop Sana’s struggle to hold the ten books in her arms. 

 

“I may have gotten carried away.” Sana blushed, causing Nayeon to giggle. Of course Sana would get excited over books and try to take the whole library home with her. 

 

“It’s going to rain.” Momo spoke up, sniffing the air in front of her before walking around everyone and heading back toward the row of benches on the hill. She walked to the very edge, and others followed as she looked down to a hole in the ground at the edge, filled with muddy water. The creature took off Chaeyoung’s jacket and handed it to the silent woman as she walked up, before removing her pants, leaving her in her bloody bra and underwear. 

 

“What are you doing?” Nayeon asked in confusion, but it was ignored in favor of Momo holding her hands over her head and using her muscular legs to jump in the air, changing form on her way down, diving into the little puddle in a flash of black fur. 

 

“W-was that an otter?” Tzuyu asked in confusion. 

 

“You’re the animal expert.” Jeongyeon whispered as Mina and Jihyo looked in the puddle, looking for the girl in wonder. 

 

Suddenly, the water drained, and from the whole emerged Momo, a smile on her face bigger than any smile Jihyo has been able to witness from the creature. She reached a hand out to Jihyo, who seemed skeptical for a moment, hugging her single book to her chest. 

 

“Trust me.” Momo smiled, and Jihyo rose a brow. 

 

“I thought we didn’t do that.” 

 

“We don’t.” The creature winked, and Jihyo sighed before taking Momo’s hand with her unoccupied one. Jihyo sat on the edge of the whole and dipped her legs inside, causing the nine tailed fox to pull her close with her arms. Her feet were planted on either side of the tunnel-like hole, holding them up. Finally, she closed her legs, and the two began to drop down, making Jihyo let out a scream of terror, but before she could finish it, they were standing on level ground, and Jihyo was clinging to the fox, who giggled at her. 

 

Jihyo stepped away from Momo with a grunt before looking around at their new location, stricken by awe. 

 

Beneath their feet was water, flowing and standing still at the same time, magically holding them up as they walked. Every wall was also water, a cool, clear blue color that could be seen through, and Jihyo gasped in awe when she saw the animals, magical and non-magical alike, swimming around the outside of the room. Jihyo placed her hand against the clear wall and was shocked when her hand came up wet, as though she had just put it in the river and taken it out. Her paper cut from earlier had vanished before her eyes, giving Jihyo the confirmation that this dwelling was in the middle of Oracle Bay.

 

“This is incredible!” Tzuyu gasped once she finally dropped to the bottom, followed by Nayeon and Jeongyeon, who orbed in as Sana tumbled down the tube and landed on her backside with a yelp. 

 

“This world is capable of wonderful things.” Momo admitted as she turned to a door, the first thing made from the entire house that wasn’t water. The wall connected to the door was made of water so dark it couldn’t be seen through. “I trust you can conjure anything you need for the night.” She finished before opening the door and slipping behind, leaving everyone to the rest of the dwelling. 

 

Momo sighed as she laid her head against the door, closing her eyes and gaining her bearings before walking to her bed in the corner of the room, comprised of sticks and twigs and pine needles taken from the trees and ground in the area. There was a single blanket, the same one she recalls wrapping her children in before it was time to sleep. It was just the way she remembers, a smaller bed made up of the same things beside it, a stuffed dog cast to the side, having had enough room for her daughter to have laid. 

 

Tears spilled from Momo’s eyes as she picked up the dog and collapsed to her knees, holding it close and holding it to her nose. She inhaled the scent, and felt a sob wrack through her body as the sight of her baby flashed across her mind. She hunched over the toy and cried into it, hoping the fabric would muffle her wails of pain. 

 

… 

 

“That was weird, wasn’t it?” Jihyo asked in confusion as she turned to Tzuyu, who frowned. 

 

“She had an exhausting day.” She excused, “She probably just needs some sleep.” 

 

“Jihyo, look what Mina did!” Sana said excitedly, pointing to a large rectangular brick of ice in the middle of the room, the books from the library already sitting atop it. Jihyo excused herself from Tzuyu to take a look at the books, leaving the nature witch to her own thoughts, which lead straight to a certain necromancer, who sat on the floor in the furthest corner from any soul, eyes swollen, face neutral. 

 

“Where’d you run off to?” Tzuyu asked kindly as she sat across from the shortest witch.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” She grumbled, and Tzuyu rose a brow. 

 

“Is everything okay?” 

 

“Is it ever okay, Tzuyu?” Chaeyoung snapped, causing Tzuyu to wince before shrugging it off. 

 

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.” She mumbled, to which Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. 

 

“Why do you care so much?” She inquired rhetorically, but Tzuyu answered anyway. 

 

“Everyone deserves to have someone care about them.” She assured, placing her hand over the girl’s knee, only for it to get pushed away. 

 

“Every person I’ve ever cared about has been killed.” Chaeyoung whimpered before standing up to hide her tears. 

 

“This place is so neat!” Dahyun grinned, bracing her hand against a wall to lean, only to fall through it, into the water. 

 

As Dahyun thrashed around in the water, looking for something to hang onto, unable to see through the water to get back to the dwelling, she felt her mind going cloudy. She felt her eyes flutter closed, and before she knew it, she was slipping out of consciousness. 

 

“Forgive me, my love.” Echoed in Dahyun’s head over and over again, that same voice she so dreamt of forever. 

 

A face flashed across her mind, and she gasped when she looked at that smile, and all the memories flooded back to her. 

 

From fighting along Yerim’s side, to holding her close as she cried over a lost friend, to making love to her, to being hers, to… 

 

Having a child with her. 

 

To dying. 

 

Every ounce of pain, every inch of broken skin, every cut and bruise and strike of pure, white hot pain being shot up her spine. 

 

Though, in this moment, reliving the physical pain was nowhere near as paralyzing as knowing that, this whole time, she had a child whom had lived without her for her whole life. 

 

The next thing Dahyun remembers is waking up in the rocks, soaking wet as Chaeyoug performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on her. 

 

She coughed up the water and gasped as she darted into the sitting position, eyes searching for Jihyo, who was standing a few feet away. 

 

“I remember everything!” Dahyun gasped, fumbling to her feet and running toward Jihyo, who seemed confused. “I-I’m Hoseok.” She admitted, taking Jihyo’s hands in hers, “And you’re my daughter.”

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ATS9873 #1
Chapter 9: I've reread this a few times, but it's still so good! Excited
Cheerupbaby09
#2
Chapter 8: Hope for jeongmi more interaction..
heehye
#3
Chapter 8: oh i can't wait for the next chapter
NiceFishy #4
Chapter 7: Woah didnt expect that. im very excited for the next chapter

its sad that few read this, but its such an amazing story

keep it up! :D
DubuDahyunFan #5
Chapter 5: Tea ?
nojamOppaJEONGYEON
#6
Ooooh looking forward
Cheerupbaby09
#7
Chapter 2: Wow! this is interesting..i like it. Thank you!.. Hoping for more updates..